The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Commission said it plans to invest $380 million in providing electricity in public schools and health centres in Nigeria, Benin, Chad and 16 other African countries.
The Commission said the electrification exercise would be carried out through its Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) aimed at addressing power deficit across the region.
The $380million project is funded by the World Bank, Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and Directorate General of International Cooperation (DGIS) of the government of the Netherlands.
The investment was revealed on Thursday at a stakeholder’s engagement forum on energising public institutions in Nigeria, where the Senior Adviser at the Commission on ROGEAP, El hadji Sylla said the project targets increasing access to electricity in the ECOWAS region for rural communities.
“The cost of the project is $380 million, and we want to promote a new innovative chain to electrify public institutions. Our target is to electrify schools and health centres to improve the service delivery.
“We are piloting the project in Nigeria and Benin Republic. The project covers 15 countries in the ECOWAS region and four countries in the Sahel region”.
Speaking specifically on the implementation of the project in Nigeria, Sylla said the Commission hopes to electrify selected public schools and health centres in the FCT, Niger and Nasarawa states in the next 18 months.
He noted, “For the pilot project in Nigeria and Benin, we are targeting 18 months for completion, but the entire project in the region is expected to be executed in five years in the various countries”.
Also speaking, representative of Chief Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power, Engr. Bem Ayangeaor, said rural electrification space in Nigeria has witnessed growth through grants and subsidies.
Adelabu said the ministry, through capital subsidies administered by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has been implementing innovative solutions to electrify rural communities.
Meanwhile, the Director of Technology and Science Education in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Muyibat Olodo described electricity as the backbone of modern education.
“The country continues to face severe electricity challenges. These challenges range from frequent power outages to complete lack of connection to the national grid,” she said.
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